Adjustable All-Season Window Awning/Light Shelf and Operating Mechanism Therefor

ABSTRACT

An adjustable window awning/light shelf includes a canopy attached to support elements installed on both sides of the window. The support elements are engaged with vertical drive screws providing for the possibility of moving the canopy up and down. Each drive screw is connected with a common drive shaft. During the cooling season, when the window needs to be shaded, the canopy is disposed at the top of the window. When shade is not required, the canopy is brought down to the bottom of the window by rotating the drive shaft, which in turn rotates the drive screws and moves the support elements with the canopy down. When in the bottom position, the awning performs as a light shelf, reflecting sunlight from its top surface into the window and increasing the amount of sunlight and solar heat entering the building through the window.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTINGCOMPACT DISC APPENDIX

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to window awnings and more particularly toadjustable window awnings.

Window awnings are used to protect buildings, including buildinginteriors, from excessive gain of solar heat through windows, and alsoas architectural elements to enhance aesthetic appeal of buildingexteriors. Shading windows with awnings is one of the most popularmethods of increasing energy efficiency of buildings. By loweringtemperature inside the building during the air conditioning season,awnings create savings in cooling energy. According to a 2007 study bythe University of Minnesota entitled “Awnings in Residential Buildings,”awnings may reduce consumption of cooling energy by up to 69% and peakelectricity demand by up to 49%, depending on the building location andsome other factors.

During the heating season, however, window awnings may block desirablepassive gain of solar heat, partially offsetting energy savings achievedduring the cooling season. Therefore, to achieve the highest energysavings, it is advisable to remove or retract window awnings during theperiod when the building needs to be heated. Because removing awningsfor the winter season is inconvenient and could be expensive, it ispreferable to use awnings that may be retracted or adjusted to allowdesirable solar heat to reach the building interior through windows.

Such retractable or adjustable window awnings are well known in theindustry and usually are made of fabric. A retractable fabric awning isretracted by rolling the fabric up onto a roller rotatably attached tothe building. Even though retractable fabric awnings have been in usefor decades, they are not sufficiently durable and require periodicreplacement of the fabric. Fabric colors are prone to fading, reducingthe aesthetic appeal of such awnings.

Also known are retractable or adjustable rigid awnings. An example ofsuch adjustable awnings is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,791,009 toWagner. It is a louver type awning where louvers are operated by a linkmechanism. Among the disadvantages of such awning is the existence of anexcessive number of movable parts subject to weather elements, whichmakes it prone to malfunction. Also, such awning cannot be retracted forthe winter season and therefore inevitably creates shade when it is notneeded. A collapsible rigid awning is described in U.S. Pat. No.6,202,363 to Chang. It may be collapsed when shade is not required,however its operating mechanism is complicated, consisting of manymovable parts subject to weather elements, and also is prone tomalfunction. In addition, when in the collapsed position, such awningrequires substantial additional side space approximately equal to thelength of its panels. Another type of retractable rigid awnings isavailable on the market in the form of roll-up awnings. Such awningconsists of narrow aluminum strips connected to each other with ropes orbands and is retracted by rolling these strips up onto a roller,similarly to retractable fabric awnings. This design does not allow forany side panels that may be desired, has many small movable parts andrequires constant tension to be applied to the connecting ropes or bandsto maintain the awning in a taut condition, which reduces the awning'sdurability. An adjustable sunshade is described in U.S. Pat. No.6,421,966 to Braunstein, et al. The sunshade is adjustable only at thetime of its installation and creates shade during the heating season,thereby greatly reducing any energy savings obtained during the coolingseason.

All the above mentioned known retractable or adjustable window awningsprovide no energy savings benefit during the heating season. Even whenretracted or adjusted to prevent or reduce undesirable shading, theycontinue to age and deteriorate under the influence of weather withoutproviding any benefits.

An awning design that aims at providing an opportunity to use the awningas both a shading device and a sunrays reflection device that would aidin heating the interior of the building in winter is described in U.S.Pat. No. 4,309,981 to Briggs, et al. In this design, the procedure toswitch the awning function from shading to heating is cumbersome andrequires direct access to the awning's canopy from the outside, butadjustment of the canopy's angle of inclination, on the contrary, mayonly be made from the inside of the building, which requires seriousmodifications of an existing window. Another embodiment of the sameinvention also allows canopy adjustment to be performed only from theinside requiring extensive modifications of an existing window.

Another combination window awning and solar heat unit is provided inU.S. Pat. No. 4,043,316 to Arent. In this combination unit, the lowerpart of the window is continually closed during the summer months,reducing the amount of daylight entering the building. The awning may beadjusted only by direct manual access from the outside. During winter,snow and ice will accumulate behind the upper awning panel when it isrotated up into its heating position. Neither of these last twoinventions allows for the entire process of changing the awning functionbetween shading and heating to be motorized.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an adjustable window awning that also maybe used as a light shelf. The awning includes a canopy attached tosupport elements on both sides of the window. The support elements arethreaded and engaged with vertical drive screws providing for thepossibility of moving the support elements with the canopy up and downrelative to the window. Each drive screw is connected via a transmissiongear with a common drive shaft. During the cooling season, when thewindow needs to be shaded, the canopy is disposed at the top of thewindow. When shade is not required, the canopy is brought down to thebottom of the window by rotating the drive shaft, which in turn rotatesthe drive screws and moves the support elements with the canopy down.The top surface of the canopy is made reflective, which increases theamount of sunlight and associated solar heat entering the buildingthrough the window by reflecting additional sunlight into the windowwhen the awning is in its bottom or intermediate position and performsas a light shelf. Such reflective surface also provides benefits duringthe summer time when the awning is in its top position. It reflectssunlight from the awning to keep the air between the awning and thewindow at a lower temperature.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple, convenientand durable adjustable window awning that would reduce gain of solarheat through windows during the cooling season and may be moved out ofthe way and permit access of desirable solar heat into the buildingduring the heating season.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an adjustablewindow awning that would increase gain of solar heat through windowsduring the heating season to provide additional energy savings.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an adjustablewindow awning that may be used as a light shelf.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an adjustablewindow awning that may be adjusted to shade a portion of the window,while allowing desired sunlight to enter the building through the windowabove and under the awning.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an adjustablewindow awning that may be easily operated either from inside or fromoutside of the building.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an adjustablewindow awning that may be easily operated manually or by power.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other advantages of the present invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the following description of its embodimentswith reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an adjustable window awning constructedin accordance with the present invention in its top position;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the adjustable window awning in itsbottom position;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of an operating mechanism of the awning ofthe present invention with the front panel removed;

FIG. 4 is a schematic of sunrays reflecting from the inclined topsurface of the awning's canopy;

FIG. 5 is a view of the awning stopped in an intermediate position toblock undesirable sunrays from a workstation;

FIG. 6 is a view of another embodiment of the present invention wherethe awning with an adjustable canopy angle is in its top position;

FIG. 7 is a view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 with the awning inthe intermediate bottom position;

FIG. 8 is a view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 with the awning inthe final bottom position;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a top slider connected with a top panelbracket and a support arm connected with a bottom panel bracket when theawning in the position shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of both top and bottom sliders, top andbottom panel brackets and a support arm when the awning is in theposition shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is schematic of sunrays reflecting from the top surface of theawning's canopy into the window when the canopy is disposedsubstantially perpendicularly to the window plane and performs as alight shelf.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the drawings, in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2, where anadjustable window awning constructed in accordance with the presentinvention is generally designated by a numeral 10, the awning includes acanopy 20 supported by support elements 21. The support elements 21 areengaged with drive screws 22 connected with a housing 23 at the top andwith bottom supports 24.

As shown in FIG. 3, each drive screw 22 is connected via a transmissiongear 25 with a drive shaft 26.

To lower the canopy 20 from its top position depicted in FIG. 1 to itsbottom position depicted in FIG. 2, the drive shaft 26 is rotated byusing a manual drive gear or an electric motor (not shown). Rotation ofthe drive shaft 26 causes the drive screws 22 to rotate simultaneouslyand move down the support elements 21 along with the canopy 20.

FIG. 4 shows sunrays reflecting from the canopy 20 into a window, whenthe canopy is in its bottom position, thereby increasing the amount ofsunlight and solar heat entering the building through the window.

FIG. 5 shows the awning, which may be stopped in any intermediateposition between its top and bottom positions, adjusted so that itblocks undesirable sunrays from a workstation while allowing desirablesunlight to enter the room through the window above and under the canopy20. At the same time, sunrays blocked by the awning reflect from thecanopy's top surface into the window and partially compensate for theamount of daylight blocked by the awning.

In order for the awning to be effective both as a shading device duringthe cooling season and a sunlight reflective device, or light shelf,during the heating season, its canopy 20 should be inclined at arelatively large angle 47, for example 60 degrees, to the window plane27, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and also in FIG. 4 in solid lines.Otherwise, if the canopy is inclined at a lesser angle, for example 45degrees, sunrays will not reflect into the window when the awning is inits bottom position, and will instead reflect into the empty space infront of the window, as shown in FIG. 4 in dashed lines.

However, the awning would be more effective in its top position, as ashading device, if inclined at a lesser angle, for example 45 degrees,and more effective it its bottom position, as a sunlight reflectivedevice, if inclined at a greater angle, ideally 90 degrees, to thewindow plane 27. Such perpendicular disposition would ensure thereflection of sunrays from the canopy's top surface 45 into the windowregardless of the sun's angle above the horizon, as shown in FIG. 11.The awning would perform as an exterior light shelf increasing desirablesolar heat gain and providing additional daylight during the winterseason. In practice, the angle of awning inclination would be slightlyless than 90 degrees, to provide for water drainage.

FIGS. 6-11 show another embodiment of the present invention where theangle 47 of the awning canopy 30 inclination relative to the windowplane 27, i.e. the angle between the canopy's bottom surface 46 and thewindow plane, changes from approximately 45 degrees in the top positionto 90 degrees in the bottom position.

This embodiment includes a canopy 30 supported by support arms 31.Bottom ends of the support arms 31 are rotatably attached to bottomsliders 32 engaged with drive screws 33. Top ends of the support arms 31are rotatably attached to bottom canopy brackets 34 affixed to thecanopy 30. Top canopy brackets 35 are affixed to the canopy 30 androtatably attached to top sliders 36 engaged with the drive screws 33.

To lower the canopy 30 from its top position depicted in FIG. 6 to itsbottom position depicted in FIG. 8, the drive shaft 26 is rotated byusing a manual drive gear or an electric motor (not shown). Rotation ofthe drive shaft 26 causes the drive screws 33 to rotate simultaneouslyand move down the sliders 32 and 36 along with the support arms 31 andcanopy 30.

Bottom sections 39 of the drive screws 33 are unthreaded, as shown inFIG. 6, over a length not less than the length of threads inside thebottom sliders 32. When the bottom sliders 32 reach the bottom supports24, the bottom sliders disengage from the threads of the drive screws33. FIG. 7 shows the intermediate bottom position of the awning when thebottom sliders 32 have reached the bottom supports 24 and are disengagedfrom the threads of the drive screws 33. Continued rotation of the drivescrews 33 causes the top sliders 36 to continue their movement down thedrive screws 33 while the bottom sliders 32 remain stationary. Thecanopy 30 rotates around top pivots 41 installed in the top sliders 36and bottom pivots 42 installed in the bottom canopy brackets 34. Theangle 47 between the canopy's bottom surface 46 and the window plane 27increases. Such downward movement of the top sliders 36 continues untildownward movement stops 37 attached to the bottom canopy brackets 34reach the surface of the support arms 31 as shown in FIG. 10. At thispoint, the canopy 30 is disposed at an angle of approximately 90 degreesto the window plane 27 as shown in FIG. 8. It would be advisable to fixthe bottom sliders 32 in this position with releasable locks (not shown)to prevent their movement under the influence of wind on the canopy 30.Such locks are well known in the industry.

To raise the canopy 30 from its final bottom position depicted in FIG. 8to its top position depicted in FIG. 6, the drive shaft 26 is rotated inthe opposite direction. Such rotation causes the top sliders 36 to moveup the drive screws 33 pushing the top canopy brackets 35. This causesthe canopy 30 to rotate around the top pivots 41 and bottom pivots 42.The bottom sliders 32 remain stationary until upward movement stops 38attached to the top sliders 36 reach the surface of the top canopybrackets 35 as shown in FIG. 9.

At this point, the rotation of the canopy 30 around the pivots 41 and 42stops and the canopy continues to move up toward the housing 23,retaining its angle of inclination relative to the window plane 27 andpulling the support arms 31, which, in turn, pull up the bottom sliders32. The bottom sliders 32 reengage with the threads of the drive screws33 and both top and bottom sliders, the canopy 30 and the support arms31 continue moving up until the canopy 30 reaches the housing 23.

It will be understood that this invention is not restricted to theembodiments described and illustrated above. A different mechanism maybe employed to move the canopy between its top and bottom positions, forexample a mechanism located at the bottom of the drive screws 22 or 33or a mechanism employing a different method of moving the canopy betweenits top and bottom positions, such as a sliding motion mechanism asopposed to a screw drive. Stopping the canopy at the desired angle ofinclination may be accomplished in a variety of different methods knownin the industry. The drive shaft 26 may be rotated manually, either fromthe outside or from inside of the building, by using simple transfermechanisms well known in the industry. The drive shaft 26 may be rotatedby using a remotely controlled electric motor, also well known in theindustry, which may be powered by solar panels. The stops 37 and 38 maybe replaced with other devices known in the industry that would stop thecanopy in its desired position during its respective downward and upwardmovements. The canopy may have a concave top surface shaped to maximizesunlight reflection into the window. The drive screws 22 and 33 may bescreened with enclosures for aesthetic purposes. Any such modificationswill remain within the scope of the present invention.

1-6. (canceled)
 7. An adjustable window awning/light shelf, said awningcomprising: a canopy positioned, when in an awning position, near a toppart of a window, comprising a top surface and a bottom surface andinclined at a certain angle between said bottom surface and said window;an operating mechanism to move said canopy down into a light shelfposition and back up into an awning position while maintaining said topsurface facing up and said bottom surface facing down.
 8. An adjustablewindow awning/light shelf of claim 7 additionally comprising means toincrease said angle when bringing said canopy into a light shelfposition and to decrease said angle when bringing said canopy into anawning position.
 9. An adjustable window awning/light shelf of claim 7,wherein said canopy is rigidly attached to support elements and saidoperating mechanism comprises vertical guides extending from top tobottom of said window and means to move said support elements togetherwith said canopy along said vertical guides while maintaining saidangle.
 10. An adjustable window awning/light shelf of claim 9, whereinsaid vertical guides are drive screws, said support elements arethreaded and engaged with said drive screws, each of said drive screwsis connected via a transmission gear with a common drive shaft, wherebyrotating said drive shaft causes said drive screws to rotatesimultaneously and move said support elements along said drive screws.11. An adjustable window awning/light shelf of claim 7 additionallycomprising: top brackets and bottom brackets affixed to said canopy;support arms, top ends of said support arms being attached to saidbottom brackets; top sliders, said top brackets being attached to saidtop sliders; bottom sliders, bottom ends of said support arms beingattached to said bottom sliders.
 12. An adjustable window awning/lightshelf of claim 11, wherein said operating mechanism comprises verticalguides extending from top to bottom of said window and means to movesaid sliders along said vertical guides.
 13. An adjustable windowawning/light shelf of claim 12, wherein said vertical guides are drivescrews, said top and bottom sliders are threaded and engaged with saiddrive screws, each of said drive screws is connected via a transmissiongear with a common drive shaft, whereby rotating said drive shaft causessaid drive screws to rotate simultaneously and move said sliders alongsaid drive screws.
 14. An adjustable window awning/light shelf of claim13, wherein said top ends of said support arms are rotatably attached tosaid bottom brackets, said top brackets are rotatably attached to saidtop sliders, said bottom ends of said support arms are rotatablyattached to said bottom sliders, said drive screws are connected withsaid drive shaft at their top ends and supported by bottom supports attheir bottom ends, said drive screws have bottom sections adjacent tosaid bottom supports unthreaded, whereby rotating said drive shaftcauses said drive screws to rotate simultaneously and move said top andbottom sliders down, said bottom sliders to disengage from threads ofsaid drive screws, upon reaching said unthreaded bottom sections, andbecome stationary, and said top sliders to continue their downwardmovement, which causes said canopy to rotate and increase said angle toassume a bottom light shelf position, and rotating said drive shaft inan opposite direction causes said top sliders to move up, said canopy torotate and decrease said angle, said bottom sliders to reengage withthreads of said drive screws, said top and bottom sliders to movesimultaneously upward and said canopy to assume a top awning position.15. An adjustable window awning/light shelf of claim 14, additionallycomprising: downward movement stops limiting canopy rotation during itsdownward movement to stop said canopy in a desired light shelf position;upward movement stops limiting canopy rotation during its upwardmovement to stop said canopy in a desired awning position.